WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) hosted a news conference call as he continues fighting to protect healthcare coverage for thousands of Ohioans, following a ruling by a Texas judge that threatens to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The judge issued his ruling after Republicans slipped a provision into their tax legislation last year that opened the door to repealing the law.

Brown has laid out what’s at stake if this dangerous decision is upheld – including pre-existing condition protections, Medicaid expansion, and a ban on annual and lifetime coverage limits.

“All the efforts to take away these protections have failed before, because Americans fought back, and shared their stories,” said Brown. “Those are the stories that have allowed us to fight every single partisan attempt to take away Ohioans’ health care. And it’s those stories that we need to hear again.”

Brown was joined on the call by John Corlett, President and Executive Director of the Center for Community Solutions in Cleveland.

“Judge Reed O’Connor’s ruling shows a sweeping disregard for the damage his decision would do to Americans, and specifically Ohioans, by invalidating the Medicaid expansion that currently provides health care coverage for approximately 640,000 people in our state. Expansion cut Ohio’s uninsured rate in half. O’Connor’s decision would reverse that progress overnight, and would disproportionately hurt both rural areas and urban communities in Ohio,” said Corlett.

Brown is encouraging Ohioans to speak out and share their stories of what losing healthcare coverage would mean for their families. Ohioans can share their stories by visiting Brown’s website HERE.

In 2017, Brown joined Ohioans in beating back Congressional efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Brown joined Ohio patients and patient advocates in cities around Ohio to underscore the importance of the Affordable Care Act. Brown has called for Republicans and Democrats to work together following failed efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, repeal would have raised premiums and kicked millions of Americans off of their insurance.

Brown has also offered legislation to make improvements to the Affordable Care Act by adding a public option to the individual marketplaces so all consumers can access an affordable plan no matter where they live, while adding competition and lowering costs. He also introduced a package of proposals to bring down the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs, one of the major cost drivers in the healthcare system, including a bill to crack down on pharmaceutical companies who spike prices overnight. Brown’s proposals have been called, “just about every policy idea drug lobbyists hate.”